


Castles in the Sky

by radioactive_lipstick



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Zombies, Alternate Universe - Space, Clueless Daryl, IN SPACE!, M/M, M/M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Science Fiction, They'll bang okay? Eventually, innocent Daryl, space cops, space travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-17
Updated: 2016-11-08
Packaged: 2018-06-02 18:05:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6576946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radioactive_lipstick/pseuds/radioactive_lipstick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daryl Dixon grew up isolated from the outside world but he is ready to challenge a whole unknown universe in search of his brother. His mind is set, he has to escape somehow. Final destination: Earth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> As you probably guessed by the amount of times I used the word SPACE in the tags.... THIS IS A SPACE AU! 
> 
> I'm a sucker for dreaming up AUs and the origin to this literally came to me in a dream caused by the combination of several cans of Pabst I consumed that night and re-reading Higgystar's Sharyl in SPACE! short right before I went to bed. 
> 
> This is more of a very long prologue that got out of hand than a first chapter, so I hope it doesn't bore you too much. 
> 
> I've changed so many things since my beta read it that I'm positive there's mistakes lurking somewhere so feel free to point out any mistakes/typos or constructive criticism in the comments. You can also leave suggestions for tags since I realized I suck at those. 
> 
> Reading people's comments brightens my day so don't be shy to write to me! I hope you enjoy.

One of the few thing that brought Daryl Dixon joy in the monotony of his daily life was waking up to the sound of the front door violently slamming shut; Will Dixon was leaving for work. 

Daryl watched his father disappear from his sight from his bedroom window, located on the corner of the second story of their wooden house, he had a good view of his surroundings. 

Sunflowers, a whole field of them, extending as far as the eye can see, the infinite sea of yellow flowers surrounded his home. Daryl lived amongst them his whole life, under a perfect blue sky with few passing clouds. The sun brightly illuminating his home from the sky from above. A view like this could take someone’s breath away but it had brought Daryl no joy. He hated it because he knew that none of it was real. 

He could tell what time it was by looking at the cloud formation as the same video looped every single day on the giant television panel that covered the entity of the inside of their residential dome, giving the illusion that he was able to roam free in the infinite field. He knew exactly how many rows of dusty plastic flowers he had to pass until he could touch the flat image of the rest of them on the cold wall of the dome. This dome was his prison since the day he was born.

This view was the result of his grandfather’s attempt to recreate a slice of Earth as he remembered it, back when he first arrived to Friea-435 and it’s hostile environment with The Corporation to exploit the planet’s resources. The air was toxic, the soil was dry and barren and never ceasing sandstorms tore at the planet’s surface but it’s core was full of fuel and minerals: rare resources that Earth and it’s ever growing colonies needed to keep expanding after the invention of hyper speed travel. 

The Corporation made promises of riches and easy living to the early settlers, providing them with domes to settle in but once the number of their colonies grew the buying prices of resources plummeted drastically, leaving colonial land owners on the brink of poverty. 

The ownership of their plot of land, including all its oil pumps and mines, along with an thousand year contract with The Corporation that forced him to reside on Friea passed on to Daryl’s father who still remembered Earth from the short time he spent there during his childhood, making Will Dixon grow into a bitter, angry, abusive man who could never go home. 

Once the sound of his father’s planetary rover could no longer be heard over the roaring winds of the eternal sandstorm raging outside and the outer door closed behind him, Daryl let his guard down. 

He took his time bathing and eating breakfast before he started on his chores, he took reading breaks in between them, knowing that wherever his father had gone to, the ride was several hours long and he won't be back until the dome’s blue sky starts turning to shades of orange before it turns off for the night to preserve electricity. 

Daryl and his older brother were the first generation of Dixons born on Friean soil and they were never allowed to leave their dome. They barely knew anything about the outside world they were cut off from by his father’s controlling nature besides the things their mother taught them and what they read in the books she brought with her from the colonized planet she was born on. 

Daryl still remembered the way she gently stroked his hair while reading him that exact same book he was holding in his hands. He ran his fingers through its yellowed pages, stopping at the ones that had pictures on them. She would ask Daryl to point at something he wanted to know about and then explaining what the unfamiliar thing was: kites, fireworks, sports, animals, oceans, seasons. Those were all things he’d learned from her. 

He wished she was still here so he could talk to her, ask her about all the things he couldn’t understand like when he was little. She was gentle and kind to her sons, patiently teaching Merle and Daryl how to read, write and count. She told them that one day their knowledge will come handy, when they find a way to leave the dome. Smiling, she spoke of her colony where fruit grew on trees under the bright orange sun. She described her sky where her people could see The Corporation’s satellites orbiting the planet from the ground, twinkling in the sun, as they passed above them, like castles full of overlords, surveying their subjects on the ground from above. Her smile dwindled every time she mentioned The Corporation and she never spoken of why she ended up on Friea-435, married to their father, light years away with no way to return home.

They were all forbidden from talking to anyone who came to visit, preventing his wife from having people to turn to was Will’s way of ensuring his family won’t ever leave him. He wanted complete control over their lives by withholding knowledge from them in every way possible. They were not allowed to listen to any news broadcasts and every piece of technology that could be used to communicate was locked away in his study. 

Their mother would allow the boys to sneak up on their father as he drank with his visitors and eavesdrop on their conversations. The only people that were allowed into their home were merchants that brought food, booze and other supplies and Will’s associates from The Corporation. After a few drinks the conversation would always turn to the topic of Earth, as nostalgia and homesickness overwhelmed their old man.

The visitors would pick up on Will’s topic of conversation, some speaking of their own visits to Earth. The boys would hear talk of water that fell from the sky and the smell of fresh air that didn’t have to go through filters to be breathable. There, the sun was real and not just a part of a looping video, they imagined the feeling of warmth as light touched their skin. They found out people were free to leave their homes, that they could travel, visiting beautiful places on a whim. On Earth, buildings were built so high that they sparkled in the light as they penetrated the clouds. Those words fueled they boys’ imaginations and let the hope their mother placed in them grow stronger, they believed one day they would find a way to leave this life behind. They would run back to her and tell her about the new things they’ve learned Earth’s wonders bringing a smile to her face but years of isolation and Will Dixon’s abuse eventually took her smile away.  
Her sons watched her wither away until she was almost immobile as she battled the demons in her mind, nothing they did seemed to be able to make her feel better anymore. Daryl was about seven when she had gotten up in the midst of the night for one last time to take her own life. Held back by his older brother while he screamed and kicked, snot and tears running all over his face, he watched their father load her lifeless body onto his vehicle, leaving them behind, alone with their grief, until he returned home without her, infuriated and drunk. That night Daryl finally learned something from his father; fear and pain were powerful motivators. 

There was no place for tears after that day. Will Dixon had no love for his sons and kept them alive only because he couldn’t get rid of them, not just yet. He beat them for every single thing they did wrong them until they perfected looking like an empty shell of themselves in his presence, obeying his every command. No matter how bad things got, they still had each other and with their father gone on business they’d still smile and laugh, daydreaming out loud about the things they would do once they’d escape the dome, the planet, The Corporation, this whole galaxy and move to Earth. 

Even with their mother gone, the brothers were still elated every time they heard an unfamiliar vehicle park in their garage, excited to hear new stories from the visitors. It wasn’t until Merle’s 21st birthday, when their dad let in people in uniforms from The Company and they took his brother away that Daryl started being weary of strangers too. 

“I’ll find a way to Earth no matter what, I promise,” Merle yelled as the men in uniforms dragged him away into their armored vehicle, “find me there!” 

Daryl hadn’t heard from him since.

More than anything, he wished that he could one day reunite with his brother on the land where their ancestors once walked, escaping from his father’s beatings, the dome that was his prison and this deadly planet behind but that was not the plan his father had for him. 

Several years have passed, Daryl’s dreams of life on Earth kept him alive but now he was two years shy of of turning 21 and expecting the same fate as his brother.

Daryl secretly kept listening in to conversations that were not meant for his ears to hear in hopes of finding out what became of his brother. He learned that The Corporation was forced to obey and enforce certain intergalactic laws set by Earth and the only employment opportunity on this planet was to work for them but they couldn’t employ anyone under the age of 21. They were short on workers since rumors of the terrible conditions their subjects had to deal with spread across the universe. The reason the transport came for Merle’s exactly on his 21st birthday and took him into the unknown was his father sold him out to into a trap set by The Corporation. He found out he men in uniforms gave his father a hefty “bonus” for raising a son that was physically capable of working at their dig sites, somewhere far away. 

Will Dixon wanted to buy out his father’s contract, Daryl had learned last night. His dear old dad, moonshine bottle in hand, bragged to a group of traveling merchants who came to barter about how much money The Corporation was willing to pay if you sent them a new worker to be tangled in their spiderweb of their barely legal practices. He had already sent one son to them and he was going to sacrifice the other one the day he turns twenty one. When he sells Daryl to them along with the deed to the land and everything on it, he would be able to free himself from the contract and fly to Earth.

The merchants told him that they had met a Dixon not so long ago, the wanted to give his father news of his son, news he didn’t let them finish because he didn’t give a damn. Before they left, Daryl ran up to them. He had to know what happened to Merle. He stool in front of them, palms sweating, aware that he is being watched by his dad from the porch.

“Hey, ya met my brother, right? I didn’t hear from him for a long time. Ya know where is he?” He asked the merchants who gave him a sympathetic look while he felt his father’s stare pierce his back like a dagger. “He doing okay? Please tell me,” he pleaded. He realize how long it’s been since he’d spoken to another human being. He had almost forgotten how to communicate since Merle left. Conversations with his father were usually one sided and consisted of Will yelling at him and ended up involving a belt as Daryl silently took the beating, afraid to say anything to anger him more. 

The merchants on the other hand, even in their drunken state were happy to chat some more and told him they met Merle several times before. He worked at a dig site somewhere far up north, being paid so little by The Corporation that he would never be able to pay for a ticket back to civilisation without starving himself to death. Daryl was horrified, his sweaty hands curled into fists. The Corporation made sure the fare for a shuttle from the dig sites was unreachable with a worker’s wage.They weren’t slaves or prisoners, they were free to leave, they just couldn’t afford to. No one had made it out of there alive until Merle simply vanished, a week or so ago. 

It was worth it, Daryl though while silently enduring through the beating that the conversation he had earned him after the merchants left. A black eye and more gashes on his back were a small price to pay for the good news he got. He knew Merle got away, he was probably on Earth now, or at least on his way there.

Daryl could still feel the wounds on his back stinging even the next morning, while he took a walk amongst the dusty plastic flowers until his fingers touched the cold interior of the dome. He could hear the wind howling wildly outside, preventing him from getting away on foot. He wondered how long he could survive out there if he made his escape while his father was out managing his affairs. He didn’t know how far away the nearest dome was and who lived in it. Would be able to find sanctuary before the toxic air kills him? Would the people who lived there even let him in? Would they help him get to Earth or return him to his father? If his good ol’ dad was any indication of the type of people that lived in other domes, Daryl didn’t stand a chance. It was too dangerous for him to attempt. He knew he’d rather die than give his father the satisfaction of trapping him in The Corporation’s claws but he wanted to live and see Merle again, on Earth. 

He only stood a chance if he found a way inside a visiting vehicle, maybe if he was quiet enough he wouldn’t be discovered before they got to civilization with him hidden onboard. He could plan further once he got there since he didn’t know what he’d find out there. So he went back to his room and packed a bag, prepared to take on the first opportunity to flee the moment one came his way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank Higgystar for encouraging me to write this fic and giving me pointers on how to write Shane. He'll make his appearance in the next chapter along with Rick. Space cops Walsh and Grimes to the rescue!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl takes his first chance to escape, facing the unknown head on.

A day of no one breathing down Daryl’s back had elapsed when sounds of creaking metal broke the silence. The outer gate was opening accompanied by it’s usual, loud, ominous noise that made Daryl’s skin crawl. Roaring winds made their way inside the garage walls, covering it’s surface with an additional layer of red sand. Daryl halted his daily air filter maintenance duties and listened carefully to the clamor coming from their garage. There was an unfamiliar machine stomping its way inside, along with his father’s worn out buggy, he could hear heavy thuds when metal hit the concrete floor. He moved quickly, his hand reached for the bag of supplies he packed earlier. He grabbed it in one swift motion and ran into the field to hide in amidst fake sunflowers, he lay low on the ground, ready to emerge from their shadows if needed. He anticipated a chance to board a visiting vehicle but for such an occasion to rise so soon could be too good to be true. He had to make sure he wasn't about to set foot on a machine belonging to The Corporation. That would only make matters worse.

The sound of air filters sucking out toxins from the garage blocked out his hearing until they ceased their functions and the inner door lifted, spilling some sand onto the dome’s ground. Sand that Daryl would have to clean up right away if it was not meant for him to escape today. There was a moment of silence where he could hear his heartbeat racing from trepidation. He was ready to take his first leap into the outside world, only if this was the right opportunity. 

The silence was followed by his father’s heavy footsteps dropping on dry red soil as he walked right next to where Daryl was hiding. He was followed by two strangers and not a word was exchanged amongst them. He couldn’t tell who they were yet but a glimpse he caught of their boots as he observed from ground level while still unnoticed, hidden by the fake plants, gave him an indication of their origin. The boots weren’t anything like the ones issued by The Corporation to all of its workers on planet, made of hard and heavy material that lasted for decades. Their boots looked light, worn in and comfortable. Were they workers from another colony? Maybe Earth itself? New merchants? Didn’t matter. They weren’t with The Corporation for sure and as soon as he could hear his father slam the entrance door closed behind them, Daryl momentarily got on his feet and darted for the open garage door, his bag in hand. 

Once out of sight from the window view of his home, he paused in front of the stranger’s vehicle. He was facing a large machine, it’s markings indicated it was a rental, an Araneae model. It looked sturdy and still in good condition as it towered over him on it’s 8 legs, it’s control cabin suspended in the center. Its door was left open, a rope ladder hanging from it, seemingly unguarded. _This could actually work,_ he thought and climbed up the ladder. He peeked inside, making sure no one was there, before he threw his bag in and made his way inside. 

A large steering wheel stood in the cabin’s middle, surrounded by panels covered in lights, buttons and levers of different shapes and sizes. No way could Daryl even imagine how to drive this thing on his own. Passenger seats were located closer to the back but there was nowhere for him to hide. He took a look around, there were two doors at the back, one lead to a tiny restroom and the other to a cargo hold full of containers of various sizes and shapes, some magnetically attached to panels mounted on the walls, others just haphazardly tied together with rope. The space was cold and dark, Daryl spotted a good hiding point between two boxes, big enough to entirely fit his body and small enough to be overlooked if someone were to quickly check the cargo hold. He closed the door behind him and made his way to his hiding spot in complete darkness where he waited for the two men of unknown origin to return and set the vehicle in motion. Eventually he heard a man speak, his voice grew louder as he climbed back into his rental.

“Need a hand?” Asked the voice.

“I’m fine, just grab the documents will ya?” yelled a gravelly second voice from below. There was a small clunk of metal hitting the floor, some ruffling and a few footsteps until someone slid the cabin door shut.

“Finally! We got what we needed here, now let’s get moving. I can’t wait to leave this place. It’s depressing,” the second man said to the creaking of the inner garage door as it made it’s way down until it was sealed. With a press of a single button somewhere inside the house, one that Daryl never had access to or knew where it was, Will Dixon just let them out. They were still locked in the garage while the clean air was being sucked out, to be recycled by the dome, but Daryl’s heart was pounding erratically in his chest, he has never been so close to being free. He closed his eyes, hoping that his dad hasn’t yet realized he’s gone, that he wouldn't stop the mechanism he already set in motion at the last second and come looking for him.

“Can’t believe this drunk idiot forgot the contract at home. We would have been on our way home if it wasn’t for this damn detour,” complained voice number two. 

“Yeah, let’s get out of here,” the first man agreed. “We need to get the evidence back home immediately. I can’t wait to see The Corporation lawyers squirm after we reveal everything we gathered.”

He could now hear the outer door opening, exposing the vehicle to the sandy winds roaring outside. The floor shook as the vehicle came to life with a loud rumbling.

“Fuck these Corporation assholes, Rick. Promotions! We’re gonna get promoted after this. Who would have thought our first off planet mission would be such a success,” exclaimed the second man with excitement. 

Daryl too was excited, he couldn’t believe he made it out of the dome! He could tell by how viciously the vehicle was shaking underneath him that the Araneae picked up speed and was now running through deserted wastelands. His excitement was short lived and quickly turned to panic. There was a hint of a coppery scent in the air. Unlike the cabin, the cargo hold wasn’t completely hermetically sealed and toxic fumes were slowly making their way inside, contaminating the remaining clean air. 

_Calm down, breath slowly._ He repeated those words in his head over and over as he blindly searched through his bag. At last, he could feel the scratchy fabric of the garment he was looking for underneath his fingertips. He pulled out a scarf from his bag and tied it around his head, covering his mouth and nose, hoping it would be enough to filter some of the toxic fumes from each breath he took. He had no clue how long the ride will take and how fast the toxins could suffocate someone. He still had no clue who Rick and the other guy were or what they’d do if they found him catching a ride among their stuff, eavesdropping on their conversations.

“Set it on autopilot and lets have some fun,” he heard the unnamed voice suggest mischievously. 

“Shane, stop it. This monstrosity has no autopilot, I have to drive manual and I can’t see a thing in this fucking storm.” 

 

“But it’s been so long,” Shane complained.

“I’m serious Shane, stop distracting me,” Rick said more firmly. “I’m having trouble dodging obstacles ” 

“Okay okay,” he heard Shane grumble, “I’m going to sleep then. Wake me up when you want me to take over or if you change your mind about the fun part. I know you can multitask.”

The springs in one of the seats squeaked as Shane put his weight on it. The man was now even closer the cargo hold door, closer to where Daryl was trying desperately to stay silent as his throat began to itch with with every breath he took.

He didn’t know for how long he silently sat in the dark, afraid of being discovered, clenching his teeth every time the vehicle hit a bump or made a sharp turn that made the containers around shake. His eyes have now been itching for a while and he kept rubbing them furiously with his sleeve. 

Light headed from lack of oxygen, he kept repeating to himself that he was going to be fine. He had to make it to their destination, wherever it was... The itching in his throat got worse as the amount of toxins in the air increased. He could no longer keep immobile now that the itching turned to a constant burning sensation and extended to his lungs. There was nothing he could do to prevent himself from coughing. He covered his mouth with his hands and muffled the involuntary sounds his body emitted. Along with the howling wind outside, that kept him unnoticed until he had no more strength left. He was exhausted, his arms gave up, they fell to his sides and the sound of his repeated coughing echoed through the cargo hold. 

“Rick? Did you hear that?” Shane asked from beyond the door, his boots hitting the ground. 

Daryl could feel the vehicle slow down gradually until it came to a complete halt and the door opened. Light from the control room illuminated a man in a gas mask, his shadow broadly extending itself across the cargo hold in Daryl’s plain view. 

“I know you’re here, show yourself,” he bellowed from under his mask, turning his head as he slowly advanced through the narrow space between the containers while Daryl helplessly quivered in his hiding spot. 

No longer swallowed by complete darkness, he realized his vision blurry, before Shane closed the door behind him. A flashlight remained the sole source of light as the man searched in between crates for the origin of the sound that disturbed him. 

Bling light shone directly into Daryl’s eyes, he could see the flashlight pointed at him was mounted onto a gun. A hand reached for him and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. The man dragged him to the door like a ragdoll. “Rick! Open up,” Shane yelled, banging on the door with his gun in hand until it slid open. Shane dragged him in and just as quickly the door closed behind them to prevent air contamination. Shane dropped Daryl to the floor next to where Rick stood. He removed his hand from the door’s controls, adding it to strengthen the grip on a similar gun to Shane’s, it too was pointed in Daryl’s direction. 

Weakened by the toxins, Daryl just lay there, desperately gasping for clean air. He was in so much trouble but at least he was no longer suffocating and each breath soothed the burning sensation in his lungs. Shane pulled off his gas mask and threw it to on the floor with unnecessary force. 

“Who are you?” he demanded to know as he paced around Daryl, pointing his gun at him. This was a familiar sight for Daryl, he knew that no matter what answer he gave he would end up in a world of pain. Shane’s demeanor reminded him of his father, angry and imposing, he towered above him, scowling, his grip tightening on his gun until his skin turned pink just like his daddy’s fists often would. There was no point trying to answer, he didn’t know what he wanted to hear so he’d just end up angering him more. As Daryl expected, Shane crouched down and grabbed him by the collar again, pulling him up into a sitting position, aggravated by Daryl’s lack of cooperation. 

“You better not be spying on us for The Corporation because I swear I’ll throw your ass out there to die,” he growled as he pulled Daryl’s scarf off his face. “Who the fuck are you?”

Shane’s angry expression turned to confusion to the sight of Daryl’s bruised face and Rick gradually lowered his gun. They exchanged perplexed looks. 

“Put him down,” Rick said as he put a hand on Shane’s shoulder. “He’s too young to be working for them.” He holstered his gun and lowered himself into a squatting position next to Shane. 

“Who are you?” he asked calmly as he studied his face. “Where did you come from?” 

“I ain’t telling you nothing,” Daryl responded weakly, still defensive from Shane’s rough questioning technique. “Just leave me here, I rather die than go back,” he rasped and took a deep breath, preparing himself to be thrown out into the toxic storm.

“What do we do with him, Rick?” Shane asked, gently lowering him into a laying position on the floor. Daryl rubbed his irritated eyes, they were still red and watering and he was sure he looked like he was crying. Maybe they felt sorry for him? Their expressions were now the same as the merchants who would sneak him and Merle snacks on their way out. His appearance must be really upsetting to them.

“I don’t know, but we gotta keep going,” Rick finally broke the silence, “if we miss today’s shuttle to the station we’ll be stuck here for another week. Keep an eye on him,” he instructed and he gave Shane a pat on the back. He returned to the wheel and pressed some buttons, bringing the Araneae back to life. Daryl wiped his eyes again, his vision was getting back to normal, he could clearly see Shane scratching the back of his head, his brown eyes fixated on him. Daryl lifted himself up onto his elbows and moved backwards a bit, intimidated by the proximity to the man. All signs of aggression have vanished from Shane’s demeanor but Daryl was still weary of him.

Rick turned back around for a moment to check on his partner. His sky blue eyes paused on Daryl’s before he went back to staring into the storm. Both men looked like they were the same age, they seemed slightly older than Merle when he last saw him. Their skin had a healthier tone than anyone he’d ever met. They definitely haven’t been on Friea long enough to start looking as pale and sickly as everyone else here did. They looked strong too, like they could break Daryl’s bones if they wanted to. Daryl survived mostly on his father’s scraps which kept him scrawny all his life, if they were to decide to throw him out, no way would he be able to stop them. He felt so small and vulnerable, comparing himself to them. 

He was still being stared down by Shane so Daryl turned away, avoiding making eye contact with the intimidating man with his muscled arms and gun hanging from his belt. He looked in Rick’s direction, the man with the short, curly brown hair was steering the wheel, looking into the distance. There was red sand flying everywhere as they raced by several silver domes and then Daryl noticed it, even through flying sand and dark clouds, there it was, a small white circle of light in the sky. “Holy shit, that’s the Sun! The real sun,” he exclaimed, overly excited and momentarily regretted those words as soon as they escaped his lips. 

“Kid, you act like you’ve never seen a sun before,” Shane was faking a smile, Daryl could see that he was masking concern. Daryl’s black eye, his hollowed cheeks and what he just said, the man looked like he already put them all together in his head. Daryl put his thumb to his mouth and started biting on the protruding skin on his nailbed, a nervous habit that should help him keep for now. 

“Look, wherever you come from, we’re not going back there ‘cause we got no time and I think you’re fine with that. Now, we got two other options, to take you with us or to just leave you here so you better start talking now.” 

“I’m not a kid, I’m nineteen,” Daryl retaliated, “and I’m still not telling ya nothing.”

“Nah, that’s not how this works. We’re cops so you better start answering my questions. I’m officer Walsh and that’s officer Grimes,” Shane reached into his pocket and pulled out a transparent card. He pushed his finger against it and drew a hexagon on it with his finger and the card revealed a shiny golden badge. 

Shane Walsh, United Earth Police, it boldly stated in embossed letters over the card’s surface. Daryl didn’t trust authority and for all he knew this could be some fake card made to impress idiots like him but it seemed like they were from Earth. If it was true, then maybe he could find a way to convince them to take him along. 

“What’s your name?” asked Shane, tilting his head to the side slightly.

“Daryl,” he answered timidly, he could see no harm from revealing some information about himself to get on their good side. 

 

“Okay Daryl, how about a last name?”

He shook his head. “Ain’t tellin’ ya that,” he replied. They would instantly know where he’s from if he revealed he was a Dixon.

“Fair enough. Why’d you hide in our vehicle? Did someone ask you to spy on us? For The Corporation maybe?”

“No way I’d ever do anything for The Corporation, they’re a bunch of assholes. They force people to work for them! I’m not spying on ya. I swear! I just needed to get away from...” he paused his confession, his passionate hatred almost made him reveal too much. 

“From whoever did this to ya?” Shane asked, pointing at Daryl’s black eye. Daryl nodded and bit his thumb again. 

“You said you’re nineteen,” Shane continued, “that makes you an adult, so we are not obligated to return you home. You know where you headed?” 

“Earth,” Daryl replied with certainty, determination lit a spark in his eyes.

“Earth? Why?”

“Got family there, I think…” Daryl shrugged. 

“Earth’s been closed to immigration for a decade now,” Rick interrupted without averting his eyes from their course. “Got a backup plan?”

“No.” Daryl dropped his head in defeat. Merle probably didn’t make it to Earth either if that was the case. Where was he supposed to find him now? He knew Merle would try to get as close to it as he could. He knew laws won’t stop his brother either. After all, he got away from The Corporation somehow... He’ll find a way there eventually and Daryl had to find one too. 

“Wait, Rick, we might actually have a way to get him there,” Shane said and turned back to Daryl. 

“We’re working undercover, making a case against The Corporation. From the way you reacted after I accused you of spying for them I’d say you know about their not so humane practices already. How about you tell us everything you know and maybe we can make you a witness in the case against them on Earth?” 

“And they’ll let me stay on Earth? Live there? I won’t have to come back here?”

“Yeah, I’m sure you’ll be granted citizenship for your help with such a big case and we can really use another witness,” admitted Rick. “You want in?”

Daryl nodded. “I’m in but I won’t tell you anything until we’re in space.”

“Smart move, then we’re agreed. We help get you to Earth, you help us take the Corporation down. It’s going to be a hard process, we’re fighting against a multi galactic authority here but I promise we’re gonna keep you safe. You can’t back out once you’re there. One last time, are you sure about this?”

“Yeah, I promise.” 

“Good. Then it’s settled. You’re stuck with us. Shane, we’re almost there, get ready.” Rick gestured toward the window, Shane got to his feet and Daryl followed. In the distance was a huge silver dome with multiple entrances surrounded by dozens of pumpjacks. 

“What’s that?” Daryl asked, bewildered by the size of the construction. 

“That’s Nox, your capital, some just call it the town of no return,” Rick answered. They entered one of the gates and the door started descending behind them followed by the familiar sound of filtering air.

The documents he overheard the officers talking about earlier turned out to be in a metal box that Rick picked up and hid inside the cargo hold before they made their way down the rope ladder. Daryl wondered what kind of contract would his father possibly be willing to hand over to undercover cops.

“Wait. Daryl, do you have your passport on you?” asked Shane when they stopped in front of an enormous metal door marked HANGAR-8 that just started to rise. 

“What’s a passport?” Daryl asked, trying not to panic when he could see he was about to come face to face with six Corporation officers, their boots and brick red uniforms clearly visible from under the rising hangar door. 

“Shit! Okay, Rick we gotta improvise, we’re bounty hunters now.” 

Rick gave him a determined nod. Daryl turned to Shane who was standing right behind him. “What the hell’s going on? Why are they here?” he hissed, eyes wide in horror. 

“Don’t worry, you’re gonna be fine.” Shane tried to reassure him as he took Daryl’s wrists and crossed them behind his back. 

“We got this, just play along,” he added as he snapped a pair of handcuffs on him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep forgetting this every time I post a chapter: come follow me on [tumblr](http://radioactive-lipstick.tumblr.com)!!! <3


	3. Chapter 3

The same artificial sky was illuminating this dome, though it’s size was hundreds of times bigger than the one Daryl escaped from. Tall stone buildings loomed over makeshift shacks of what looked like a slum city. Noise and chatter filled the streets. And there were people. Dozens of people just passing by. On foot, on bicycles and some on small motorized vehicles. 

Daryl’s senses were overwhelmed, his attention flicked between the whole new world he’s been exposed to once the hangar door rose completely and his companions. 

Rick was by his side, his hand hovering his gun, as if expecting a worst case scenario while Shane talked to the guards who refused to let them in initially. Refused to let Daryl in, to be more exact. Not without identification which Daryl never even knew should have existed in the first place. The undercover earthling cops refused to abandon him, much to his relief, following up with their impromptu plan of impersonating bounty hunters. 

Daryl had to admit Shane sounded quite convincing. The combination of his unwavering confidence and his ability to come up with such a detailed tale was quite impressive.

So Daryl did his part in playing along. He channeled his frustration of being once again stuck in an unwanted situation into scoffing at any of the guards who dared to come too close to him. Shane’s story painted him as some sort of wanted criminal so he acted as aggressively and obnoxiously as he imagined a criminal would. 

He went from a lifelong prisoner in his own home to hiding in a cargo hold and now he was shackled in metal cuffs, even if it was just for show, it was still infuriating. So far his escape has not given him any pay off. There was not one second of freedom that he could enjoy on his own. Maybe it was a mistake to have agreed to join pair of earthbound cops that he just met. Surely they wouldn’t have thrown him out to die in the dunes. Wouldn’t that count as murder? He wondered how often did the people who were supposed to uphold the law actually broke it. He knew the local officials wouldn’t bat an eye at corruption. He hoped elsewhere wasn’t the same. 

He stared down another guard who circled him and Rick, causing him to back off and return to his flock of uniformed assholes. Rick snorted with laughter and whispered him to keep it up when none of them were looking their way any longer.

“I think they’re starting to fall for it,” he said, fondly watching his partner in action. 

Daryl really wished they’d hurry up and let them through. He really hated being restrained, it brought memories of scalding pain that usually followed the same helpless feeling he was currently struggling with.

He looked at the people rushing through the busy street behind the guards to distract himself. Were they free to come and go as they pleased or were they held back by the invisible grasp of laws and corruption instilled by The Corporation? Judging by the shacks and wobbly looking houses that were in his view, the locals weren’t much more well off than he was. He could see families passing by, smiling. At least these people weren’t alone. They had each other.

Even with so many people now around him, so close to civilization, he still felt so lonely. Daryl lowered his head. There was nothing he could do about it. Not now, when when things were out of his control. What made everything worse was that he could feel the hastily locked handcuffs digging into his skin. He shook them around hoping they’d move into a less bothersome position but it didn’t do any good, they barely shifted on his wrists. 

Rick must have noticed him struggling because moved slowly to stand right behind him. 

“Cuffs too tight?” he whispered into Daryl’s ear. 

Daryl felt uncomfortable being in such proximity to the other man but he had to keep playing along for the sake of getting on that damn shuttle. He gave a small nod of affirmation, fighting his urge for fight or flight.

“Sorry, should’ve check on you earlier,” Rick apologized. 

Daryl could feel Rick’s hands on him and the cuffs loosened but Rick didn’t stop there. He lingered behind him, gently rubbing the reddened lines on Daryl’s skin in circular motion with his thumbs, restoring blood flow to the numb area. Having someone trying to make him feel better was now so foreign to Daryl that he froze in place, his heart racing. Daryl could have sworn all the blood was flowing into his flushing cheeks. Why was Rick being so nice to him? It’s not like he didn’t already agree to being their witness. What else was there for him to gain?

“Better?” Rick asked and Daryl nervously nodded, repeatedly. Rick gave him a quick smile and moved back. 

Daryl let out a relieved sigh. He really needed to start getting used to having people around him. At least now he felt a bit less lonely. 

“You okay?” he asked Daryl.

“It’s just… there’s so many people out there. Never knew so many can live under one dome.”

He tried not to gawk at the passerbys but it was impossible, he was fascinated by everything. Everything was new to him. He was seeing things he’d only seen in pictures before. He could hear merchants with carts full of all kinds of trinkets flaunting their merchandise. He smelled scents of freshly cooked food that were completely new to him as they carried with the smoke coming from nearby stalls. 

Moving neon signs hung in his view, inciting him to visit nearby shops. _As if_ , he thought, looking at the guards that cut them off from the street. He really _really_ wanted to go explore. But he was stuck there. All because he didn’t have some stupid thing called a passport with him. 

“How many people lived under your dome?” Rick tried to chat him up. 

Daryl thought Rick was getting bored so he decided to indulge him a bit. 

“We used to be four.”

“Used to be?” The words peaked Rick’s curiosity. “Were they your family? What happened to them?”

“This part of the investigation, officer?” Daryl scoffed. He wasn’t about to start explaining how his life went to shit any time soon. 

“No, just want to get to know you better.” Rick shrugged, his piercing blue eyes were on Daryl, giving him his undivided attention. 

Before Daryl could tell him not to bother because there was nothing about him that was remotely worth knowing Shane came to join them, smiling wide, visibly pleased with himself. He was convinced that the elaborate excuse he came up with was enough to allow an undocumented teenager into the capital and buy passes for the shuttle and absolutely not the palm greasing that he resorted to in the end that got the guards looking the other way. All except one. He was left to linger behind to keep an eye on them from a distance, making sure the undocumented teenage delinquent didn’t get released within the city limits without supervision.

Shane waved the three freshly obtained boarding passes in the air in front of them. 

“Good job,” Rick said. 

A match of Rock Paper Scissors later and Rick stayed with Daryl, smirking as he’d won two out of three rounds against his partner, making him the one who had to file all the paperwork required by the docks to move their cargo to the shuttle. 

Then they waited while the workers moved all the contents of their rental vehicle into the biggest hangar where the space shuttle was parked. The guard was shadowing their every move and watching Daryl like a hawk. Shane whispered something into Rick’s ear and they nodded to each other with determined looks and Shane left to distract the guard. 

“How about we take a walk while Shane is taking care of things?” Rick proposed. “I bet you want to go explore a bit.” 

Daryl tried his best to hide his excitement. “Can we?” he asked and Rick nodded with a hint of a smile. 

They walked into the pedestrian traffic of the street. Rick kept kept glancing behind them as he was holding Daryl by one arm, trying to keep him from bumping into any of the careless rushing locals as the young man looked around, completely dazed by his surroundings. People, noise, lights, smells. Everything was new to him. Being deprived from the outside world for so long, Daryl wanted to satisfy his curiosity about every single thing he encountered. Maybe he could risk asking Rick? He didn’t want to annoy him or even worse anger the man so he kept his questions to himself. 

They turned a corner and Rick urged him to stop. 

“Looks like I can take your handcuffs off now,” he said. “We weren’t followed.”

The cuffs clicked open one after the other and Daryl rubbed his wrists. 

“Where to now?” Daryl asked, expecting Rick to reveal their destination. 

“Wherever you want,” Rick told him, “you can lead the way. I’ll just keep holding you so we don’t get separated if you’re okay with that?”

Daryl agreed. He was finally able to go where he wanted. 

They passed by several vitrines with clothes, a stall with mechanical parts, one with boxes that showed moving colorful images that Daryl didn’t have a clue what to call, and a building with a red door that had scantily clad men and women inviting them to come inside and Rick told them to scram once the started following the seemingly confused Daryl. 

Daryl’s eyes stopped on a glass window behind which fluffy little creatures played with a ball that was bigger than them. He approached slowly. From closer up he could tell they were dogs. 

The nervousness from struggling with the the flow of pedestrians seemed to have completely vanished as Daryl watched the lively critters trying to paw and bite into the ball in awe. 

“They’re cute aren’t they?” Rick got Daryl’s attention, he was smiling at him. 

“Yeah, I’ve never seen one before,” Daryl finally found the strength to share something personal with the cop. “I mean I’ve seen pictures in books. Just not real ones. I never left my dome before.” 

“I had a feeling that was the case,” Rick said, sounding almost sad, “can you tell me why?”

“Wasn’t allowed,” Daryl admitted, making a puppy follow his finger as he traced zigzags on the glass.

Rick really didn’t want to tear Daryl away from the display of the pet store, not when he looked so happy and at ease, brightly glaring at the puppies, his face almost touching the glass as he bent down to observe them closer, but the shuttle’s launch time was near. 

“Daryl, we should go back. Shane will be worried if we’re late.”

Daryl took one last look at the carefree pups and headed back. Once again Rick kept a hold on his forearm, moving with him through the ongoing pedestrian traffic.

He didn’t know who isolated Daryl from the outside world and until where Daryl’s knowledge of it extended but he could see that the young man was struggling. Daryl got easily distracted by things that were so common to most people, enough not to pay attention where he’s going. He’d look at them intensely, as if trying to find a buried answer in the back of his mind.

“You know you can ask me things, right?”

Daryl stared at him in disbelief. “You won’t be annoyed?” he asked, “even if they’re stupid?”

“Not at all,” Rick reassured him, “the more you know, the easier it’s gonna be for you to adjust. So you can ask me anything. I’ll be glad to answer, Shane too.” 

Daryl’s face lit up and he spent the rest of their walk back bombarding Rick with questions.


	4. Chapter 4

There were many things Daryl wanted to soak up knowledge about in the domed shanty town before he left it for good. Unaware that his carefree, juvenile attitude and inquisitive chain of “what’s this?” and “what’s that?” was turning heads he asked away but much to his surprise Rick has admitted not knowing the answer to some of his questions. He didn’t seem bothered by his lack of knowledge in certain areas which made Daryl feel a bit better about himself. He even asked Daryl some questions in return and when they were both oblivious about something Rick promised to show him how to look it up on their computerized database which left Daryl glowing with excitement.

When they returned to the shuttle Shane was waiting for them impatiently, consumed by his nervous habit of rubbing his head and repeatedly pacing back and forth.

“There you are! Took you long enough,” he exclaimed as he spotted them from afar, “I was about to go searching for you.”

“Relax, we’re fine. I told you we’ll be gone an hour. We’re only 5 minutes late,” Rick replied and put a stern hand on Shane’s shoulder. “Everything okay here?”

“Yeah, let’s go inside,” Shane said as he ascended the stairs and handed their boarding passes to an overly cheerful blonde in a deep blue uniform.

Suddenly, Daryl was hesitant to follow, noticing how the stairs unsteadily bended under Shane’s weight. Hastily hammered in wooden patches were visible on some of the boards, masking the cracks beneath them. Everything on this planet was decades old, used past its expected lifespan and barely holding together… So how safe was this shuttle? 

He took a step back and took a good look at it. It was a huge and heavy looking white vessel, adorned with a row of dozens of circular windows and wings no thicker than the walls of Daryl’s former home. 

Daryl was scared stiff. How did this huge, ancient, heavy thing even manage to fly?

Rick’s voice repeatedly calling his name brought Daryl back to reality. “What’s wrong?” Rick asked, his voice thickly coated with concern. 

“Is it safe?” Daryl asked, his voice low and unsure as he took another step backwards. Something about living the security of the solid ground below his feet and taking flight in an ancient chunk of metal machinery he couldn’t understand with absolutely no way out had him terrified beyond belief. 

“Perfectly safe,” Rick assured him. “People inspect it for problems after each flight. You don’t need to worry.”

Daryl knew Rick meant well but he had his doubts about how diligent local mechanics could be and the expression painted on his face reflected that because the same solid grip Rick had on Shane’s shoulder was now on his. The officer told him about all the laws requirements of maintaining a public out of orbit vessel. Yet they both knew regulations were rarely reinforced anywhere on this shithole of a planet. 

Trying to get the courage to take a step forward, Daryl looked around, everyone else has already boarded the vessel. Everyone was waiting on him to get the hell into that metallic death trap. Rick, Shane, the blonde air attendant and all those people who were staring down at him from the row of the vessel’s portholes from above. 

The churning feeling in his gut was telling him to abandon ship, run and hide, disappear into the constantly moving crowd of people outside and never return but he resisted it with all his might because this had to be done.

If all these people, Rick and Shane included, put their blind faith in this stupid flying craft to get them into space then he had to get over himself and go up those creaking stairs. “I can do this,” he told himself and lurched toward. 

One step at a time, he let Rick lead as the cop encouraged him to ascend the flimsy stairs and through the door where the blonde attendant walked them to their seats and left to tend to a pale, jittery passenger in another row. Daryl was trying not to show it but he felt the same. The exit was now locked. He couldn’t back out now. He was about to fly for the first time in his life. He just didn’t want the attention that came with looking like a nervous wreck. Luckily, the nervous man started screaming and begging to be let out. Another air attendant rushed past them to try to calm the rowdy traveler. 

With bated breath and eyes wide open, he looked at the officers beside him for reassurance.

“You should sit near the window,” Shane said, “flying is safer than you think but it helps to see what’s going on outside. Trust me.” Daryl still looked unsure. “You can close the blinds anytime but I don’t think you’d want to once we’re off,” Shane quickly added. 

The cheerful air attendant that introduced herself as Amy urged everyone to sit down and fasten their seat belts as she started demonstrating safety procedures. Daryl noticed that most passengers weren’t paying attention to her but he followed her every instruction, trying not to think about the types of peril he can succumb to in this aircraft. Fingers running amok, he fastened his seat belt and and dug his nails into the handrests long before the spacecraft even started to move.

“I was nervous on my first flight too,” Shane said, he was sitting next to him completely unbothered by the sound the shuttle wings made when they got hit by the outside storm as they exited the hangar onto the thick concrete runway. “It’s scary for the first few minutes as we get out the atmosphere and then it’s smooth sailing to the station, the whole trip only takes half an hour.”

_Half an hour,_ Daryl thought. It’s not that bad considering he spent most of the day fearing for his life. This had to be done, he just needed to tough through it like everything else he did earlier today. 

But then there was liftoff and Daryl ground his teeth as the shuttle shook on it’s way up, digging his nails deeper into the soft fabric of the armrests, as every muscle in his body tensed up. He looked outside, the ground was shrinking beneath them as they soared upward. It wasn’t so bad until the shuttle pierced through the clouds, even the menacing gray ones looked soft and fluffy from above until lightning rolled through them making Daryl jump up in his seat. They were far above it and could no longer be reached. Then they got even higher and everything started looking like it was ablaze and completely horrifying. Vicious turbulence shook the spacecraft. Some passengers gasped. Panicked beyond belief, he turned to Shane, who put his hand on Daryl’s and before he could even ask reassured him that all of it was normal and it will be over soon.

“Don’t worry, just close your eyes,” said Rick, “We’ll tell you when the scary part is over.”

The shaking proceeded for several minutes and Shane’s grip on his hand kept Daryl’s mind grounded as he kept his eyes shut, his body shaking away with the turbulence of the spacecraft. Then there was a sense of ease as some people cheered. No more shaking, no more noise from the shuttle struggling to free itself from Friea-435. They were in open space. 

“Open your eyes and look outside,” Shane said softly and squeezed his hand gently. Daryl did as he was told and was greeted by the sight of a perfect curve of his home planet underneath them. From so far up, it didn’t look so hostile anymore in fact Daryl found it beautiful. He gazed at the red sand storms sweeping the surface, now inaudible, no longer threatening, no longer instilling fear of choking from toxic air. Some domes reflected light through clearings in the angry clouds as lightning rode through them. It was bright, completely silent and magnificent. 

A smile bloomed on Daryl’s lips. He finally felt it: freedom. He watched the distance between him and his past life increase.

“Told you you wouldn’t want to close the blinds,” said Shane. Daryl turned around and noticed, Rick was resting his chin on Shane’s shoulder and they were both turned his way, watching him carefully. 

Daryl’s cheeks flushed red. “What?” he blurted, unsure of why they found his reaction worthy of being so closely observed.

“You did good, Daryl. We’re proud of you. The hard part’s over. Now we’re gonna dock over there and get on our ship and then it’s off to Earth,” Rick said and pointed outside. 

Daryl looked out the porthole again. The space station was now in full view, slowly rotating on it’s own axis, a humongous, complex structure, looking so out of place in the void of the starry sky. Daryl couldn’t even begin to understand how someone could come up with the idea and knowledge needed to build such a thing, to suspend it in the sky and fill it with people.

As if guided by invisible strings, the shuttle smoothly docked in its designated bay on the outer ring of the station. People were grabbing their baggage and leaving, hurrying past them. They passed the nervous flier on their way out, he was still shaking in his seat and Daryl was grateful that he had Shane and Rick to guide him through this experience, otherwise the would have ended up just like him. 

He was beginning to trust the men by his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I somehow managed to update within a somewhat sensible time frame o_o Now back to staring at Norman Reedus' CGI butt I go~ (Thanks Kojima)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm baaaack. Life got in the way of writing but I'm back with what is a long chapter for me. Hope you like it!

There was nothing more unsettling than walking through a maze of corridors of a station that had no sign of law enforcement, yet everything Daryl set his eyes upon gave him an eerie feeling of being watched, controlled, molded into submission. He followed closely behind Rick and Shane who were making their way to their ship. By shadowing them so close he attempted to stay out of view from the judgmental wandering looks the station’s inhabitants were giving him. These people, their behavior seemed almost robotic to him as they walked by in an oddly orderly fashion, as if they were bound by invisible lanes that dictated their path. If their expressions didn’t sour at the sight of him, he would have thought them to be synthetic. 

He had a good idea why they frowned in dissatisfaction at the sight of him. Daryl’s hair was an uneven chopped off mess. He only cut it off ever so often so it wouldn’t grow long enough for his father to grab him by it. To make things worse, the last mirror he’d seen his reflection in was shattered months ago so he had no clue what he looked like now. Even if he did his best to hide behind his companions as they confidently strode further as they chatted about work, listing their future tasks, going over the preparation steps before takeoff, he must have looked like the biggest mess the locals encountered in a while.

Trying to ignore the unpleasant glances, he focused on his surroundings. The walls were coated with silver and white paint and the wide glass windows above them gave a panoramic view of the stars, moon and satellites slowly orbiting the planet below. Everything looked so clean, almost sterile. Even soil looked like it was glued together under the planted pots that decorated every corner of the observation deck and the plants in them looked like they were forbidden to grow past a certain size by a barely visible humming forcefield. From the few living plants he’s seen in his life, he sympathized with these poor saplings the most since they, much like him, were held back from growing to their full potential by circumstances that were out of their control.

It was as if the locals too followed some unspoken rules of conduct. It was no buzzing forcefield but he could still sense it. The pressure to conform. The way everyone wore a form of fitting, light clothes and their hair was neatly cut or decoratively braided. The way they judged outsiders by their appearance. The way they seemed to want to keep their station free of anything that looked like it didn’t belong.

The other Frieans from the shuttle dispersed and now Daryl felt like he was the only one contaminating the local view with his brick red earth stained clothes, though they were once gray, his swollen black eye and unruly hair. At some point a small cleaner robot came out of a hole in the wall and started following him, vacuuming up the small pieces of dry mud that dropped from his boots until he shooed it away. He couldn’t feel more like an outsider now even if he tried.

Everything was so surreal, so foreign, his whole day felt like a feverish dream that spun out of control in his subconscious. In the back Daryl’s mind was a fear that he’d wake up from this dream, back in his bed and go back to his nightmarish monotone life. 

His fatigue and hunger were telling him he was indeed awake but still if that wasn’t the case, he’d attempt to escape over and over again. Just to see the sky. It was worth it, he thought, looking up through the glass ceiling and seeing the stars glisten above. 

Not paying attention where he was going, he walked straight into Shane who came to a halt right in front of him.

“Sorry,” Daryl mumbled, his eyes immediately downcast as he took a step back. This wasn’t the first time this happened during trajectory and once again Shane looked more amused than inconvienienced.

“What distracted you this time?” he asked.

Daryl pointed up.

“You’re gonna be seeing plenty of that for the next three months,” shane said and laughed. “C’mon we’re here,” he added as he pointed at a door.

“Wait? Three months?” Daryl was taken aback. Three months was a hell of a long time.

“Shit, we should’ve told you earlier,” said Rick, “it takes three months to fly to Earth. Is that a deal breaker for you?”

Three months, stuck in space with two men he just met. To some it might have been one but Daryl was determined.

“What? No! I’m coming with you,” he almost yelled. Three months in space for a life long freedom. He’d take that deal any day. He’d just have to adapt somehow in case things got bad. He was good at that.

“Good. It might seem like long time but you’re gonna quickly feel at home here,” Shane said. He pulled out a card from his pocket, scanned the card on the detector next to the door and pulled it open, revealing their ride to Earth. The officers considered it a run of the mill way of transportation provided for them by their employer but to Daryl it looked like a grandiose vessel. It was metallic, clean, polished, with smooth aerodynamic curves and it was bigger than a house. It definitely didn’t look like it was bound to fall apart anytime soon like the shuttle from earlier. On the contrary, Daryl’s blood was pumping at the sight of it. He couldn’t wait to go inside. To him it was a marvel of technology that was gonna get him the hell away from here.

The trio walked through it’s open doors and where unsuspecting Daryl was greeted with a poof of what seemed like silver mist. While it took Daryl by surprise as he tried to briskly swat it off in a panic, the other two seemed unphased by the glittery substance that was now settling on them as it emitted a low mechanical buzz. Shane explained that it’s just the ship’s way of making sure they’re okay. Nanomites, he called them, were there to check for any disease they could have caught, evaluate their wellbeing and mend any external injuries. That explained why he could feel them settle on his scrapes, as if they were pulling them together. The mist was a good thing, he thought, since it was the first time he got actual care for his injuries that wasn’t improvised by him or his brother. Even if it was by microscopic unsentient robots, he was grateful for their help. 

“Could have warned me,” he said, dusting off the remainder of the nanomites that got stuck on his clothes. “Thought I was gonna die enough times today already. Need no more surprises.” 

“Then we should probably introduce you to the ship before before she startles you,” Shane said. “Lori, we’re back,” he said loudly into thin air.

“Welcome home, officer Walsh,” a woman’s voice said. 

“The hell?” Wide eyed, Daryl did a full turn, looking for the source of the voice. Shane watched him, clearly amused. “It’s our ship’s artificial intelligence,” he explained. “Lori, say hello to Daryl, he’s our guest for this ride.” 

“Hello Daryl,” the disembodied voice spoke again, “I have granted you guest privileges. Welcome aboard. Let me know if you need anything.” 

“I can talk to the ship?” An AI was a marvel of technology Daryl had never heard of. “How do I do that?”

“Just say her name and ask her anything. Like this. Lori,” Shane spoke up, “what’s the current population of Friea-435?” 

“Official numbers say that it has 3.3 million residents. However news outlets have been speculating that the number is closer to 8 million due to the number of undocumented citizens.” 

The news pained Daryl, he was kept locked away from millions of people for nineteen years. Why didn’t he run away sooner?

Shane scratched his head. He probably shouldn’t have asked that question judging by Daryl’s scowl. 

“Hey, whatever you’re thinking about, it’s all behind you. You’re going to Earth like you wanted. Just concentrate on that.”

In the short time Shane spent on Friea he’d lost count of how many times he wanted to beat the shit out of the scum they’ve encountered. Fortunately, Rick was there to stop him from doing anything of the sort. He reminded him that he had to hold himself back and collect evidence, keeping in mind the satisfaction he would get when all the scum will be hunted down and arrested, freeing the people whose rights and freedoms they were toying with. If they won their case, that is. 

They found signs of misattribution of resources, money laundering, unlawful confinement and even human trafficking. Some of it purposely ignored by The Corporation, some of it even facilitated by it. They even had to resort to the local custom of bribery to obtain some of the proof from corrupt officials. Shane felt like everyone on that planet was mistreated by someone who’s higher in the chain of command. It was a horrible place to live in. 

What made his stay even worse is that the highlight of Friean cuisine was canned pork and beans.

Taking Daryl away from all of it momentarily made Shane feel like this whole trip was already worth it. He wanted to know more about the boy so he could avoid upsetting him. Clearly he was doing a shitty job at that.

Daryl didn’t think he could follow Shane’s advice, he knew the man meant well but positive thinking wasn’t exactly something he could muster on a whim. 

“I’ll try.” It was the best he could offer. To make matters worse, Daryl’s stomach growled loudly.

“When was the last time you ate?” Shane asked, imagining the amount of canned food Daryl had to survive on. 

Daryl thought back to the watered down oatmeal and the leftover preserved peaches he scraped down from the bottom of a can. “Dunno,” he shrugged, “this morning, I guess.”

“Daryl, it’s past midnight. Follow me.” Shane looked frustrated.

“Why didn’t you buy him any food when you were roaming around town?” he growled at Rick.

“I didn’t wanna buy him something I wouldn’t eat myself,” Rick exclaimed in self defense. “You know how the food there looks like. I didn’t know what half of the crap they were cooking even was.”

They kept arguing throughout dinner. Fearing it might turn into a full fledged fight, Daryl just kept quiet, even when the delicious food he was offered made him want moan in delight, he tried to remain unnoticeable. When he realized it wasn’t going to escalate any further as their arguments were just going in circles and bordering on plainly ridiculous, he finally decided to speak up and put an end to it because why the hell should they fight because of him?

“Can you two stop it? It’s pointless,” he spoke up with all the confidence he could muster, subconsciously tightening his grip on the fork in his hand, ready to defend himself in case they got mad. Immediately catching their attention, he receded in his chair. “It’s not like I didn’t go longer without food anyway,” he mumbled self consciously, looking away. 

To his astonishment, they actually listened to him.

“Sorry Daryl,” Rick apologized.

“We haven’t had a good night’s sleep in days and I get really grumpy when I’m running on caffeine,” explained Shane. 

“Even grumpier on an empty stomach,” Rick added, “but he’s right. I should’ve gotten you some food sooner. You’re under our protection now. Our responsibility. We need to think of your needs.”

“Apology... accepted?” Daryl wasn’t even sure it was the right thing to say in this case since apologies were hard to come by in his life so he just shrugged it off and resumed degustating from all the dishes that were scattered all over the table. Lori was programmed to be a good cook, he noticed. 

“Thanks,” Rick said and gave him a warm smile. Shane seemed to also be satisfied by what he said so they ate the rest of the meal in a comfortable silence, solely interrupted by Daryl’s pleased humming as he tried a new dish he liked to the delight of his companions.

\-----------

“You’re gonna stay in Rick’s room,” said Shane with a finality in his words. At this point Daryl expected some sort of resistance on Rick’s part or at least a match of Rock, Paper, Scissors which seemed their go to way of attributing tasks but Rick just nodded in agreement as if his room was no big loss and showed him the way. Inside was a large bed, occupying most of the space, a full length mirror and all other furniture seemed like it was carved out of the walls. Everything was painted in shades of white and gray and seemed kind of dull. Through the window, he could see people bringing in the remnants of their cargo onto the ship.

“We got some things to double check before we depart,” said Rick, “why don’t you make yourself at home? If you’re bored you can read some books on the tablet over there,” he pointed at what looked like a thick piece of glass that lay on one of the bedside tables. “If you’re not sure how to use it, ask Lori.”

“You can check out the rest of the ship too if you want,” Shane added as he turned on his feet and left. 

They walked off to the cargo bay with a “see ya later” and Daryl immediately decided to go explore. Thanks to its interior, Daryl could see himself accepting it as his temporary home. It had a living room, kitchen, dining room, a room full of gym equipment and two bedrooms accompanied by each their own bathroom. If he chose to ignore the cargo hold, engine room, infirmary, that is. And if not for the couple of holding cells he found at the end of a hallway in the ship’s rear end, it would have no indication of belonging to a pair of officers of the law. 

When Daryl returned to Rick’s room, he noticed how bare it was compared to Shane’s. It was almost like no one lived there prior to his arrival. Neat and with few personal effects that didn’t look like they were used often, it looked pristine. Rick must not be one to tolerate dirt or clutter, Daryl thought.

Taking a look at his reflection, he decided he immediately needed to hop in the shower. No wonder people stared at him. He looked filthy. 

Allowing his tired body to relax under hot water, he watched the remnants of red soil that clung to his skin and hair circle down the drain along with the excess nanomites that accomplished their mission of healing his scrapes, made the water look like it was sprinkled with glitter at his feet. It was as if a heavy weight was lifted off his shoulders. After this strenuous day, he felt the relief of being safe and alone, behind a locked door.

When he came out, wrapped in a towel, to his relief, his bag was waiting for him on his bed. As well as necessities, he packed something that he considered his prized possession. He would have been gutted if it got lost. 

His mom’s botany book. She scribbled notes on it’s pages. Drew variations of the plants from her home planet. On the blank pages of the inner cover, she drew a self portrait in pencil. Daryl remembered as she lay gentle pencil strokes on paper after glancing in the mirror. Then she made him and Merle sit still as she drew them both next to her. It was the closest thing Daryl had to a family photo and there’s no way he would have left it behind, even if the damn book weighed a ton.

Next to his bag, clean clothes lay folded. They must have belonged to one of the officers. Daryl put them on and looked in the mirror. The clothes were loose and baggy on him and accentuated just how underweight he was. With a loud sigh, he emptied the contents of his bag on the bed and put on the clothes he had packed. They weren't as clean looking as the ones he just tried on but they were his and they fit him better.

Rick knocked on the door shortly after. 

“I wanna show you something,” he said as he led him to the control bridge, boasting about his flying skills along the way. Daryl watched him pilot the ship into the barrier that separated them from open space until it popped and let them out. The ship’s flying was so smooth that Daryl wouldn’t even be able to tell if he wasn’t watching Rick penetrate the barrier and leave the station with his own eyes. There was a faint sound of engines but the ship somehow dampened all movement. He watched him set course to home and activate the autopilot. Through the glass he could see his home planet disappear out of view. Goodbye and good riddance, Daryl thought as the outside world turned into a blur of passing starlight once Rick turned on hyper speed.

As much as he hated the place, he was glad Rick gave him the chance to see it for one last time as they sped away. Everything that he knew, that he was used to was now gone. The things he feared were now far behind. Surely, Shane’s advice would be easier to follow now.

“Lori, close all the blinds before Daryl gets a headache from staring outside,” Rick said, giving him a pat on the back. “It was long day for you, you should get some sleep.”

\-----------

Daryl was exhausted. He should be able to sleep. He tried. But he couldn’t.

Not on the bed that was soft and comfortable compared to the mattress back home that was even older than him. Not on the couch. Not even on the floor. He tried them all. On his back, on his side, curled in a ball. Nothing helped. 

It’s been a couple of days and he was starting to understand what Shane meant about being grumpy and running on caffeine as he settled on the couch and read the botany book for the millionth time, trying to bore himself to sleep as he knew it’s words by heart. During those few days, Daryl mostly hid away in his room. The officers left him alone, only asking him to join them at the dining table. There was not much talking and the only time he ventured out of his room was when he was sure they were asleep. Now that he had Lori to answer his question, he didn’t want to be a nuisance to them. 

“What are you doing here in the middle of the night?” Rick was in the doorway, holding an empty glass of water. 

“Reading,” Daryl promptly answered, hiding away the old book.

“Didn’t know you were interested in plants,” Rick mused.

“I’m not. It’s my mom’s favorite book. She used to read it to me so I’d fall asleep but it’s not helping now. I can’t sleep, at all,” Daryl finally admitted, “haven’t since I got here.” 

“I see.” Rick filled the glass with water and came to sit down next to him. “I had trouble sleeping here at first. Damn engine humm seemed so loud, now I hardly notice it.”

That was it. Sound. Daryl realized that the lack of that ever present sounds of functioning air filters that lulled him to sleep every night since the day he was born was missing. He wasn’t sure how he’d fall asleep without them. Now what was he supposed to do?

“Insomnia? That happen to you before?” Rick asked.

Daryl nodded. “Few times. Long time ago,” he recalled.

“What did you do then?”

The memory brought up a smile to Daryl’s lips.

“I’d crawl into my brother’s bed,” he said, reliving the memory in his mind. “He’d tease me about it, make fun of me but he’d let me stay and it worked. Every time.” 

“Where’s he at now?” 

“Dunno,” Daryl shrugged. “Earth maybe. He said we should meet there.”

“Anywhere specific? Earth’s a big place.”

“No. Didn’t say. It don’t matter anyway. I’ll find him,” Daryl said with conviction. But how would he do it? Would he even know where to begin? 

“In that case, when we get there, I’ll help you look,” Rick said. 

Daryl just stared at him. Of course, he’s a cop. He can find missing people. It’s his job. He’s probably done it before. He’s had resources and stuff. 

Daryl nodded. “Thanks,” he said quietly. 

Rick stood up. “Anyway, if you still can’t sleep, if you wanna, you can crawl into our bed. I’ll leave the door open for you.” And he left, glass of water in hand.

Daryl watched him turn the corner, as the officer dragged his slippers across the floor. Was he sleepwalking? What kind of weird offer was that? He wasn’t a kid anymore. Why would he share a bed with two men who he wasn’t even related to?

A couple of sleepless hours later, Daryl was considering the odd offer. One more hour, and he was making his way to their bedroom, desperate for a restful night. 

The door was indeed left open for him and as he peeked inside, he could see that there was plenty of space for him to sleep on in the middle without even risking to touch the other men, so he climbed in. Did they make space for him on purpose?

This is stupid, he thought as he closed his eyes. Really stupid, he thought later, as his mind started spinning a dream into fruition, lulled to sleep by the sound of two men peaceful breathing by his sides.

He’d run away come morning and would resort to the same process every night he couldn’t sleep afterwards. The officers didn’t seem to mind at all. In fact, no one talked about it, to Daryl’s relief. 

During day time, Shane offered to teach him self defense and Rick showed him how to use the training equipment. Daryl was spending less and less time in solitude each day. He was starting to enjoy their company as all three would watch movies together, randomly choosing numbers in the catalogue. Somehow Rick kept track of the numbers of all the westerns they’ve watched and Daryl would join in on Shane’s complaints that he was cheating. Sometimes Daryl would fall asleep on the couch after watching yet another one of Rick’s picks. He’d wake up covered by a blanket or carried away to bed. He didn’t dare ask by whom. 

Daryl had learned things about them during nights. Shane was restless and would move in his sleep. Daryl had to swat his arm away from his face several times a night. Rick was a hugger, when he could he’d steal the blanket and hug it, he’d attach himself to his pillow or whomever was sleeping next to him like a koala to a tree and that night it was Daryl. 

So the next morning he awoke in Rick’s embrace, with Shane’s arm flung over them, his face dangerously close to Shane’s bare chest. To make matters worse he woke up with morning wood and had to carefully slither his way out of bed, amidst the web of limbs and crumpled blankets around him, so he wouldn’t awaken anybody and make this even more awkward. He made his way to his room, cursing under his breath because how dare his body enjoy that more than it should and took care of his unwanted situation in the privacy of his own room. Must be that stupid romantic comedy he accidentally picked last night affecting him. 

He’d have plenty of time doing _that_ on Earth, with a girl or something. Not that he knew he particularly liked girls, he just knew he should. That it’s what was normal. But then again his life was far from what he knew was normal so maybe he could give his subconscious mind a break about enjoying a warm embrace of two sleeping men. Anyway, it’s not like they’re gonna know.

\-----------

“We need to talk,” Rick said over breakfast, and Daryl almost choked on his toast. Shit. Did Rick find out about this morning or did he manage to fuck something else up somehow? Daryl’s mind was racing over all the possibilities of why Rick would say such words with a serious tone.

“I didn’t do nothing,” Daryl automatically tried to defend himself. He was already pushing his chair back in preparation to flee.

“I know. Just hear me out,” Rick continued, “we wanted to give you a chance to get comfortable with us before we did this and forgive us if we’re gonna be a bit pushy...” 

Fuck, Daryl didn’t like where this was going. 

“But we really need to question you about your life. I know you don’t wanna talk about the past but your testimony is very…”

“Wait,” Daryl interrupted, “that’s it? All you want is to ask me questions?”

“Well, yes. We want to record your testimony. Anything that might be useful to our case.” 

“Deputy Grimes, you need to work on your opening sentences,” Shane, who remained silent so far, finally spoke up, mocking his partner. “What he wanted to say is we don’t want to upset you but it’s time for us to ask you some pretty personal questions. You ready for that?” 

“Gotta be. I promised you I’d do it anyway,” Daryl replied, relieved once again that they weren’t mad at him. “I guess now it’s a good time as any.”

“You knew I was gonna fuck this up,” Rick said with a smile. He clenched his fist and playfully bumped Shane’s shoulder. “You two, finish eating. I’ll go get the video recorder.” 

He came back with his hands full of folders, papers, a couple of pens and a small ball that he let float over the table. He turned it around and it focused its camera lens on Daryl.

“Ok, let’s start from the beginning,” said Shane as he took some pen and paper from his partner, tapped it on the table and lay it in front of him. “Your full name and age.”

“Daryl Dixon, nineteen years old.” 

“Dixon?” Rick asked in disbelief. The officers gave each other a look Daryl didn’t quite like. 

“Yeah, why?”

“It’s nothing,” Shane replied. Trying to look inconspicuous, he took the folders Rick left all over the surface of the table and put them into a pile then he nervously scratched the back of his head. “Absolutely nothing, let’s continue.”

Fuck, they were hiding something from him. He felt the trust he placed shatter into pieces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Throw a comment my way. Knowing if you enjoyed the chapter makes my day :3


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a bit heavy to write and might be a bit heavy to read, especially if you're still recovering from Sunday's episode. I'll post the trigger warnings in the end notes(to avoid spoiling the chapter) so if any of you feel like something might upset you, jump to the bottom of the page.

_“What the hell are they keeping from me?”_ The speculations kept Daryl awake at night while he lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling. They kept him from enjoying his meals with the deputies and the mistrust they sprouted in his mind was creating a divide between them, a divide Daryl desperately wanted gone. He didn’t want it to be like this, to avoid the only two people who seemed to care about his wellbeing but the trust he had gradually put in them was overshadowed by the pestering thoughts that wouldn't cease tormenting him. 

 

Daryl answered numerous questions, digging in his memories for the smallest useful detail from furtive conversations led by his father with one shadowy figure or another. The setting was always the same as they blurred their mundane lives with shots of fragrant brown liquid in the dimly lit dining room. Trying to remember mentioned names, locations and dates kept him from thinking of the folders that Shane quickly pushed away, out of his reach at the sound of his last name. Obviously it was big enough of a secret to keep if the officers willing to lie to him, probably for the first time since the day they met.

 

Dixon. It meant to them something other than it meant to him. Daryl was the son of an abusive piece of shit, he knew they figured it out long before he told them exactly what abusive piece of shit it was. Long before he admitted it during his questioning. He gave them every single bit of information that he could recall to help them with their case but at the end they still looked concerned, even after they reassured him it was plenty to go on. They kept asking him about his family and Daryl honestly didn’t know what else they expected him to say after hours of questioning. Asking them what was wrong was useless, they avoided the question and he could tell it made them uncomfortable to even think about it. Did they know something about his dad that he didn’t? Or was it Merle? Did they know where he was? Maybe they’ve met him? Or was he dead? Did his father tell them he was dead? Every little question felt too personal, too trivial to be about the case. It was like they wished to siphon out of him that one thing they already knew to make the burden of telling him fall off their shoulders. At the end Daryl lashed out, not knowing what else they wanted him to say.

 

“I’ve done told ya everything,” he yelled as he brusquely got up. “I don’t know what else you want me to say.” He stormed off, last time he saw them was when he glanced back around the corner. Rick was wiping his face with the palm of his hand and Shane leaned back into his chair, his usual confident demeanor deflating into defeat. Daryl ran to his room where he locked himself in for days. 

 

First thing he did after the lengthy questioning was ask Lori to look up his last name but her internal database didn’t give him any results and since they were flying in full on hyper speed there was no chance she could connect to an external network to search further. Daryl had to find out what his companions were hiding the old fashioned way or his mistrust in them would drive him crazy.

 

He kept his distance from the other two to the point that he was running out of ways to politely decline Rick and Shane’s invitations to spend time with them. He felt bad for getting mad at them but he didn’t know what else he could do. The thought of their presence was no longer comforting to him. It made him nervous. He thought they were good people, that they cared for him past their duty as officers in charge of protecting a witness. They didn’t have to spend time with him, to help him with his anxiety from the unknown and to try to take care of his insomnia which, luckily, was gone now. Shane didn’t have to train him in self defence and get him in shape so he could feel more confident. Rick didn’t have to offer his help every time Daryl looked upset. And they sure as hell didn’t have to have guessed which food he enjoyed the most just by watching him and reprogram Lori to include it in every meal. Maybe he was wrong? Either way, he had to face them again before he started walking on eggshells around them like he did with his dad. To know what they were hiding he had to at least leave his room, be within earshot of their conversations so he unlocked the door and stealthily walked to the living area. 

 

He peeked around the corner and assessed the situation. Both officers were seated at the dining table, engulfed in work. Rick was going through some notes that he pulled out from a sandy yellow folder that lay open in front of him while Shane was typing something onto a glass tablet.

 

He watch time pass by on the clock as they worked in silence. Well, this wasn’t getting him any closer to an answer. He slowly walked in, dragging his feet to make sure the sound attracted the attention of both men. Their eyes were on him and he could feel cold sweat starting to build up on his forehead. 

 

“Hey, ummm… I’m sorry about the other day.” He managed to say timidly. “I was just tired, I guess.”

 

“Daryl, it’s fine,” Rick said, uncomfortably shifting in his chair. Daryl could see he was ineffectively trying to look casual while Shane was hovering the pile of folders like a guard dog. “We pushed you too hard. To tell you the truth we wanted to get you to your breaking point so we can start preparing you for your testimony. We need to make sure it doesn’t happen during the trial.”

 

It seemed only partially true.

 

“We gotta toughen you up so the opposition’s lawyers can’t break you,” Rick added. “Make sure they can’t use anything you say or do against the case.”

 

“I’m plenty tough enough,” Daryl retorted, looking at the folders and then into Shane’s eyes. Shane wasn’t buying it. No wonder since he didn’t even sound convincing to himself. 

 

Rick shook his head.

 

“What we asked you that day is child’s play compared to the real trial. They’re gonna try to make you look untrustworthy, unstable. Ask you personal questions that might make you lash out. Try to get under your skin with every word. Even to make you doubt yourself,” Rick said. “We’re going to prepare you for that. You’re not ready until we say you’re ready.”

 

Daryl nodded, accepting what he had to do. It was obvious to him that Rick thought he was too weak to handle whatever they were keeping from him. Even Shane, who trained him on a daily basis and knew how tenacious Daryl was, while he struggled to get into shape after years of malnutrition, wasn’t convinced he could handle it.

\-----------------

After witnessing how watchful they were of his presence while working on their case, Daryl was convinced the answer was in the pile of folders they never let out of their sights. It had to be. He had to get his hands on them. He waited for the next time they asked him if he wanted to join them for movie night, Daryl accepted because he had a plan.

 

Once again it was Rick’s turn to pick a movie. Unsurprisingly, it was another old Western whose catalogue number he had memorized. Daryl wanted this to be like before and he convinced himself it will be once he finds out what they’re hiding without them knowing. He’ll find his answers and surely their evasiveness of the topic will make sense to him. At least he hoped it would so he could go back to feeling safe, comfortable and warm around them. Maybe even closer like he often let his imagination run wild before he buried the dreams of intimacy and closeness under self sabotage and insecurity, partly because they didn’t make any sense to him, partly because he couldn’t choose which of the two men he liked more. 

 

He really shouldn’t let his imagination distract him from his mission. Daryl made himself snap back to reality. Two men were having a shootout in the middle of a desert town for the sake of a damsel in distress. He rolled his eye. All those movies Rick liked were so damn similar. It wouldn’t seem suspicious if he fell asleep mid movie, after all he had done so a few times before. He’d even seen Shane do the same at some point. Daryl closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. 

 

Someone covered him with a blanket. 

 

“Don’t wanna carry him all the way to the bedroom,” Shane proclaimed in a lowered voice while pulling the blanket over Daryl’s shoulders. “He’s no longer light as a feather like he used to be.”

 

“Well, that’s all your doing. You got him working out so much he had to cut all the sleeves of his old shirts cause his arms won’t fit in ‘em no more.” Rick said with a chuckle.

 

“I’m just glad he’s no longer angry at us.” Shane’s voice came from the direction of the kitchen. “I like having him around.” 

 

“Me too,” he heard Rick admit. “I hope he doesn’t just disappear on us after the trial. Wouldn't feel right not knowing where he is and if he’s okay.”

 

Even if Daryl’s plan wouldn’t work tonight, at least he confirmed that the officers genuinely cared for him which made him feel even worse for planning to break their trust. 

 

“Okay, enough eye candy.” Rick decided leaving Daryl confused about what they meant. “Let’s get some work done.” 

 

He could hear a keypad being pressed as the keys beeped in response. Nine beeps and the sound of a cupboard opening. They they must have taken out the folders from their hiding spot.

 

For a couple of hours all he could hear the officers turning pages, writing notes, typing on glass pads and infrequently ask each other about the case. Still nothing, not of it concerned Daryl or gave him any indication of what they were hiding. That was until Rick went to bed, exhausted, and left Shane behind. 

 

Daryl could hear him typing on the glass pad, gradually slowing down and pausing for a yawn until the room was overtaken by silence. Daryl opened his eyes and turned around, looking over the back of the couch. Shane was asleep, his face buried in between his crossed arms on top of the case files. Daryl slowly got up and stretched. He didn’t know how long he pretended to be asleep but his back was aching from lounging on the couch for so long. It was, however, worth the wait. This was even better than eavesdropping and hoping to hear something relevant. It gave him access to the case files. He approached the table with caution and looked over the folders. All of them were marked with names. Some were familiar, some completely foreign but he was looking for a specific one and there it was. One folder was marked Dixon.

 

Alright, he was just gonna borrow it. No one will know. He’ll put it right back before anyone notices. He slowly pulled it out from under Shane’s arm, cautious to not wake the peacefully sleeping man.

 

He tiptoed past Rick’s bedroom door just in case and retreated to his room. He locked both the bedroom and bathroom doors behind him, it was a nervous habit he still couldn’t shake from his time back home.

 

Once sitting comfortably on the floor, he laid out the contents of the folder in front of him, carefully memorizing their order so he could put them back exactly how they were so no one would even notice he touched them. First came notes on his testimony, stapled together with a plastic baggy containing a memory card with what he assumed was the recording the tiny floating camera took during his questioning. He quickly glanced them over and cast them aside. Next were notes on the officer’s encounter with his father stapled with a candid photo of him on a bar stool that Daryl quickly turned over so he could read the writing beneath it and not look at the face that gave him nightmares.

 

Figures they found him in a bar, he was always drowning his misery in something. He shook his head, refusing to let memories of his drunk angry father distract him. He had to hurry up and return the file before Shane woke up and noticed it was gone. He laughed out loud as he continued reading, his father’s behavior was so predictable. Looks like it didn’t take long for them to make him turn on his employer. Some alcohol, to make him talk and that’s it. He was a manager of a dig, in charge of a hundred people. Even Daryl didn’t know the specifics of his job, not that it mattered. He was getting somewhere, at least this was brand new information. Later, a bribe was given in exchange for some incriminating documents. Documents that his father either forgot or purposely didn’t bring to their future meeting. That’s how Rick and Shane ended up doing a detour at his home. He guessed he had his dad to thank for something. 

 

Jaundiced papers followed the notes. From an old, discoloured photograph, his mother was looking right at him, her eyes still piercing blue just like his. She looked healthier and younger than Daryl ever remembered her being. It was glued on a contract signed in her handwriting, identical to the notes in her botany book. She agreed to serve as a maid for a Corporation official for eight years in exchange, her father would not be jailed for tax evasion. Daryl could feel anger starting to boil inside him. So that’s how his parents met. His mom was assigned to work for his dad by the Corporation, no wonder she hated them so much. The date she signed the document, it was less than a year before Merle was born. Daryl could feel the heat rising to his face as he realized what this meant. He did his best not to crumple the paper in his fit of anger and tossed it aside. 

 

He cursed out loud as he pulled another contract from the folder, it too, has gained a yellow tint with time. 

 

Suddenly, he heard loud banging on his bedroom door, making him flinch and back into the cold bathroom wall. 

 

“Daryl! Don’t do it!” Came Shane’s voice, his screaming muffled by the walls. “Don’t read it. You don’t have to find out like this!” 

 

But it was too late, Daryl was already holding the last papers from the file. It too had a photo of his mom stapled on it, a full body shot of her where she looked beautiful and carefree, working in the fields but this contract, it was signed by his father. 

 

“Daryl, don’t do it! Let me in!” Shane was still screaming and banging on the door. “Dammit Lori, overwrite the lock!” 

 

“Lock overwrite requires confirmation from both administrators,” Lori notified him as a matter-of-factly in her unbothered, monotone voice.

 

Daryl could hear Shane curse and scream Rick’s name. He should have been afraid of what was going to happen to him but instead he felt too nauseated by what he was reading to care. He was used to physical pain but this was tearing him from the inside.

 

Conditions of Promotion was typed in bold letters on top of the page, under The Corporation’s official seal. It stated that his father had to have at least two offsprings with the woman on the attached photo to qualify for a promotion where the whole family would be moved to Nova-4G, a planet that was being terraformed to be the main agricultural center of this galaxy. The more kids they had the bigger his promotion. The Corporation wanted to triple the population of Friea to have enough workforce to populate Nova. There was no sign of consent from his mother nowhere on that paper, not even her name was present. It was signed a week after the other document. 

 

Loose ends were tying themselves together in Daryl’s mind as tears rolled down his cheeks.

 

“Lori,” Daryl asked through sobs, “what’s the population of Nova-4G?” 

 

“It’s failed terraforming attempt has left the planet uninhabited.” 

 

He could now hear both Rick and Shane at his door, requesting the locks to be overwritten. He knew now they were trying to protect him but he was so angry he lost control and the second the bathroom door opened he flung to his feet throwing the contracts the them. 

 

“They used her! He used her!” he yelled through the overwhelming pain. “We were never a family! We were his property. The Corporation’s property. Why didn’t you tell me?” 

 

Everything made sense now. His mom was serving a sentence to keep her father from going to jail. Forced to live not as a maid but as a slave. Daryl knew she tried to deal with it the best that she could but long after the eight years of her sentence have past and there was no sign of someone coming to take her back home to her family, she gave up. Daryl couldn’t blame her, he never did. He didn’t blame Rick and Shane for not wanting to tell him but without knowing why, he was trying to unleash his rage onto them. He crying, yelling, trying to fight them, as they avoided his punches and tried to talk him down to no avail. Rick caught him by his wrist and held him until Daryl gave up trying to punch his way into a fight that would leave him in enough pain to obscure the vividity his emotional distress. 

 

He looked at Rick who was suddenly telling him to breathe and he realized he couldn’t and fell to his knees. 

 

While Rick was desperately trying to calm him down, Shane disappeared in one frantic jolt out the door, returning quickly with something metallic in his hand. He popped the lid off the small cylindrical object, revealing a needle which he jammed into Daryl’s arm.

 

“The hell?” Rick hissed at Shane. “What’s that?”

 

“Tranquilizer,” Shane explained. “Should calm him down. Never thought stocking this stuff in the infirmary would come in handy.”

 

Already feeling it’s effect, Daryl took a deep breath, followed by a quiet sob. 

 

“Daryl, I’m so sorry,” Shane uttered, falling to his knees next to him. “You should never have seen those files. It’s all my fault.”

 

“The files,” Rick grunted and started picking the crumpled papers up from all over the floor. He recklessly shoved them into the folder and stood up. “I’ll go put them so he’ll never have to see them again. You gonna be okay with him like this?” 

 

“Yeah, I got him,” said Shane. “I’ll make sure he’s fine.”

 

Rick nodded in response and took another look at Daryl. Shane put his hands over on Daryl’s shoulders, his solid grip holding Daryl from toppling over as he remembered how to breathe again. 

 

“We’ll talk about this later,” Rick told both of them and left, folder in hand. Daryl could no longer feel the pain in his chest or the rage that made his face feel like it’s on fire. His guts no longer felt like they were tied in a million knots. An eerie serenity was now starting to veil his emotions. He fucked up. He fucked up real bad this time but it was like he couldn’t feel the fear of upcoming consequences anymore nor the pain about what he just found out. He was a mess a minute ago and now he felt like he just was.

 

Shane was right in front of him, apologizing, blaming himself for what Daryl just went through. “He really cares for me.” The thought was crossing Daryl’s foggy mind like a warm breeze. 

 

“Not your fault,” Daryl whispered, “I did this to myself.”

 

“Me ‘n Rick, we wanted to tell ya. We knew you had to be told before the trial. Before someone else told ya. It had to be us but we didn’t know how. We thought we should consult a psychologist or something, down on Earth. So we could do it the right way. Lessen the blow. Have someone help you deal with it.” Shane shook his head. 

 

Daryl managed a hint of a smile. God damn, they really _really_ cared for him.

 

“Shit, I just wanted to rest my eyes and now you’re like this and it’s all my fault,” Shane continued his self-blaming tirade.

 

Daryl noticed his face was so close. His mind floating in reality like nothing really mattered thanks to the tranquilizer. He was lulled into a calm state between wakefulness and dreaming. All Daryl could think about was that he had to stop Shane from blaming himself this very second.

 

“Not your fault,” he whispered again. “Just shut up for a second,” he pleaded as he leaned in, closed his eyes and pressed his lips against Shane’s. He could feel the warmth of Shane’s lips underneath his but the cop didn’t kiss him back. The only thing Daryl felt before he spiraled into drug induced unconsciousness without even opening his eyes was the grip of Shane’s hands on his shoulders tightening slightly and pulling him closer by his shirt. For that fraction of a second, Daryl felt elated. He did it. Shane wasn’t blaming himself anymore. The corners of Daryl’s lips curved upwards before he fell into his slumber and his body hung heavily in Shane’s grasp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: There's implications about rape and mentions of slavery. None of it is graphic. Daryl goes through an emotional breakdown too so proceed reading with caution. 
> 
> And for those who read it, I hope you don't hate me.   
> Things will get better from here, I promise!

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on tumblr [here](http://radioactive-lipstick.tumblr.com/) for fic updates and Daryl centered stuff or my main blog [here](http://badass-bitch-and-lipstick.tumblr.com/)


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